3 major takeaways from Cowboys’ loss include yet another QB having a field day – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire The Cowboys defense having recent success in the past against the Panthers makes Matt Eberflus’ defense look even worse from Sunday. Dallas couldn’t stop former teammate Rico Dowdle Rico Dowdle told reporters that the Dallas […] 3 major takeaways from Cowboys’ loss include yet another QB having a field day – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire The Cowboys defense having recent success in the past against the Panthers makes Matt Eberflus’ defense look even worse from Sunday. Dallas couldn’t stop former teammate Rico Dowdle Rico Dowdle told reporters that the Dallas defense needed to buckle up, but he ran over their car on his way to over 200 yards from scrimmage. On his 30 runs, the Cowboys’ 2024 leading rusher ran half of them for at least seven yards. He was handed the ball 30 times for 183 yards for 6.1 yards per attempt. He also led the team with four catches for 56 yards. On 38 rush attempts, Dallas only had two run stops all game. Dallas allowed another QB to outperform his past Bryce Young had his highest yards per pass, completion percentage, and quarterback rating of the season and his most yards and touchdown passes since Week 1 when he threw the ball 55 times. On the year, Young had only completed three passes over 20 yards on 12 attempts, but against Dallas, Young was perfect on all three of those throws. The Panthers leaned on the run, but when Young needed to make a play, he did so all game. He was a perfect 10 out of 10 for 125 yards and three touchdowns with a perfect passer rating when trailing against the Cowboys. Losing 2 key matchups cost the Cowboys the game in Carolina – Mario Herrera Jr., Inside The Star The Cowboys should have a play-caller advantage in most matchups, but anyone calling plays against the Dallas defense is having a good time right now. Canales Outsmarts Eberflus While McMillan’s heroics hurt, the real dagger came from Panthers HC and play caller, Dave Canales, who completely outcoached Matt Eberflus for four quarters. Carolina’s offensive game plan was simple but devastatingly effective: attack the edges, use motion to confuse the linebackers, and mix in well-timed play-action passes to keep the Cowboys guessing. The result? Running back Rico Dowdle torched Dallas for over 200 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, gashing the defense with both power runs and short receptions out of the backfield. The Cowboys’ defensive front looked slow to react, and their tackling was sloppy. Time and again, Canales dialed up the perfect play to counter Eberflus’ calls, whether it was a screen pass against a blitz or a delayed draw against light fronts. This wasn’t just a bad day at the office. It was a schematic beatdown. Eberflus’ inability to adjust to what Canales was doing put the Cowboys in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Even Pickens’ monster performance wasn’t enough to overcome a defense that looked confused and reactive all game long. In a league defined by parity, talent alone doesn’t win on Sundays. Matchups do. Dallas won one, Pickens vs. Horn, and lost the other two decisively. McMillan’s timely touchdowns and Canales’ masterful game plan exposed the Cowboys’ weaknesses in both coverage and coaching. Until Dallas learns to consistently win these critical one-on-one and strategic battles, games like this will continue to slip away. Michael Irvin knows a thing or two about playing in a bigtime offense, but the Cowboys defense is so bad it hasn’t let the offense win games. Michael Irvin is sick to his stomach watching the 2025 Cowboys defense “I have never seen an NFL defense with so many people running WIDE OPEN!!!!,” Irvin posted on X. You are not alone, Irvin. We are six weeks into the Matt Eberflus experiment, and players are still having communication breakdowns all over the place. Donovan Wilson was responsible for both of Tetairoa McMillan’s touchdowns. While Eberflus obviously can’t go out there and play defense, he is asking to get burned by continuing to play Wilson, a deeply flawed player in coverage, as a deep-lying safety. It’s one thing for the players to fail to execute his scheme, but Eberflus is failing to fix the things that are under his control, like personnel decisions. Continuing to play Sam Williams 30 snaps a game while James Houston barely sniffs 15 snaps is a prime example. Don’t get it twisted: there is plenty wrong with Eberflus’ scheme. That DaRon Bland was playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage on 4th-and-3 with just over two minutes left in regulation makes absolutely no sense. The Panthers converted a quick slant and went on to milk the rest of the clock and kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. Stephen Jones on Cowboys’ defensive struggles: ‘It’s a work in progress’ – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com The Cowboys front office thinking the defensive problems are more personnel than scheme right now could be the worst news of the season, to date. “Yes I do,” Jones said when asked on 105.3 the Fan if Dallas had the pieces they need defensively. “This just comes down to execution. We’ve got to continue to be more consistent, and we can certainly do it. I think this is a work in progress, obviously we’ve got a lot of work to do on the defensive side of the ball.” Going to work and chopping wood were two points that Jones repeatedly mentioned when discussing how the Cowboys need to go about fixing their defense, which ranks last in the NFL for yards allowed per game with 411.7, the only team in the league allowing north of 400 yards per game. Even though a lot of the same struggles that have plagued them through the first five games arose in Week 6, Jones feels that this is all a

One step forward, two steps back. That narrative has described the 2025 Dallas Cowboys defense to a tee six games into the regular season. After a game in which Dallas’ defense performed much better in Week 5 against the Jets, there was optimism that the defense could build upon that performance this week against Carolina. […] One step forward, two steps back. That narrative has described the 2025 Dallas Cowboys defense to a tee six games into the regular season. After a game in which Dallas’ defense performed much better in Week 5 against the Jets, there was optimism that the defense could build upon that performance this week against Carolina. That belief could not have been more wrong, as Dallas’ defense fell back into their old ways, once again looking like the most incompetent defensive unit in the entire NFL. Coverage, pass rush, tackling, you name it, every facet of Dallas’ defense was horrible on Sunday. While the defense was a joke, the offense once again had a very productive day, despite being down four key players. The Cowboys’ offense scored 27 points, and if their defense had been able to give them a little more, they likely would have won the game. Plenty of players on Dallas’ offense played well, but wide receiver George Pickens stood above the rest. Dallas’ wideout takes home this week’s game ball award. When CeeDee Lamb went down with an ankle injury in Week 3, the Cowboys needed Pickens to step up and play like a number-one wide receiver in Lamb’s absence. The 24-year-old wideout has done that and more, totaling 19 catches for 359 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the three games without Lamb. Sunday was no different as Pickens once again looked like the best wide receiver on the field. The former second-round pick totaled season-highs in receptions (nine, a career-high) and receiving yards (168), making play after play to help elevate Dallas’ offense. Pickens scored a critical touchdown late in the third quarter, showing off his impressive breakaway speed. Unfortunately for Pickens, his big day came in a loss as Dallas’ defense could not stop a nose bleed in the second half. Nonetheless, there is no denying the first-year Cowboy has looked like one of the best receivers in football from Week 4 on. Pickens’ hot stretch has elevated him into a tie for the league lead with six receiving touchdowns and third in the league with 525 receiving yards. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua, the two players who have more receiving yards than Pickens, have 10 and 22 more receptions, respectively, showing just how many chunk plays Dallas’ star wideout is making. To this point, the George Pickens acquisition is looking like one of Dallas’ best moves of the past decade. If their defense can somehow become not the worst unit in football, the Cowboys could be a dangerous team with arguably the best receiving duo in football once CeeDee Lamb returns. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys have played six games so far this season and have two wins to show for their work. Technically speaking you could say 2.5 given the tie from a few weeks back. Understanding that ties are rare we can note that the Cowboys are in fairly uncharted waters at the moment. They are […] The Dallas Cowboys have played six games so far this season and have two wins to show for their work. Technically speaking you could say 2.5 given the tie from a few weeks back. Understanding that ties are rare we can note that the Cowboys are in fairly uncharted waters at the moment. They are now the 15th team in franchise history to have two or fewer wins through the first six games of the season. None of the previous 14 made the playoffs. Obviously this team’s story is still being written, but what we saw on Sunday in Carolina suggests that the genre of the story is more horror than rom-com. Here is our stock report from the brutal loss. Stock Up: George Pickens The Cowboys have a superstar on their hands in George Pickens. It is a shame that his performance did not end in a win. It deserved one. On Sunday, Pickens caught a touchdown for the fifth game in a row and as it was his sixth one overall he set a new career high for a season (the Pittsburgh Steelers have to feel some type of way about letting him go). If there is any negative associated with what we are seeing from him it is that all of these statistical accolades will serve as ammunition for him and his representation in contract negotiations next spring. Stock Up: Jake Ferguson (on the season as a whole) Sunday specifically wasn’t a massive day for Jake Ferguson, but he caught a touchdown for the third game in a row. It is funny to consider that he was experiencing quite the drought before that. This is easily the best season of Ferguson’s career to date and that it is happening right after Dallas gave him an extension is great to see (imagine if we had this feeling with Pickens!). Stock Up: Donovan Ezeiruaku During the sequence where Xavier Legette had a lateral that is difficult to explain even with the Panthers having won, Donovan Ezeiruaku had a fantastic punch out against Rico Dowdle. The play was undone by a penalty, and while we aren’t here to celebrate something that technically didn’t happen, it was pretty cool nonetheless. Ezeiruaku had an enormous amount of hype during training camp and we have yet to see that translate. This could be representative of the fact that it is starting to take legitimate root. Stock Up: Whoever the defensive coordinator is in 2026 This is said somewhat in jest, but we are going to be so grateful for whoever is the new defensive coordinator. Consider that last time we felt the way we do the Cowboys swapped out Mike Nolan for Dan Quinn. We have reached this point with this situation. Stock Down: Matt Eberflus Ah… the situation. I am a big fan of Matt Eberflus. I celebrated his return as he had a lot of success as the Cowboys linebackers coach before leaving the team in 2018. His stint as a head coach did not go well, but it was assumed the experience would at least help from a leadership aspect (kind of like Dan Quinn just along this specific line of thought). None of that has taken hold. We are witnessing a historically bad defense that has now made both Caleb Williams and Bryce Young look mighty. It is awkward to call for someone to be fired, but it is also difficult for the Cowboys to justify not making a move of some kind. Maybe this week will bring the classic “moving from the field to the booth” Hail Mary. It will always be important to note that Eberflus lost his best defensive player the week before the season began, but equally so it should be said that the offensive line has been missing all sorts of players and both Klayton Adams and Conor Riley are able to survive. That is not a full excuse. Stock Down: Kenneth Murray The coaching is obviously bad on the Cowboys defense, but wow the talent is hardly making things better. Matt Eberflus was known for his work with Cowboys linebackers specifically, and given Kenneth Murray’s first-round pedigree, it wasn’t the biggest of reaches to think that maybe Dallas could be on the precipice of getting lucky. No luck. Only pain. Murray is playing like one of the worst linebackers in the NFL at the moment and is an extreme liability in both the run and pass. He was part of the miscommunication (if we want to call it that) when Bryce Young found Hunter Renfrow on Carolina’s fourth-down conversion on what was their game-winning drive. Speed, a lack of it in this instance, is what wins and loses games and it is showing up in the heart of the Cowboys defense with Kenneth Murray. Stock Down: Donovan Wilson There was a sense of “is this really happening” with safety play when Dan Quinn was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Those of us who have been around for a while vividly remember when the safety position was a serious point of weakness and Donovan Wilson has done more than enough to take us back in time without needing 1.21 gigawatts to power the DeLorean. Any time that Donovan Wilson is in coverage it is a win for the opposing offense. He had a heroic interception against the Giants when Russell Wilson threw up an arm punt, and was also gifted one in this game. But just about every moment outside of that has been grim. He is seriously weighing down the team at this moment in the passing game. Stock Down: Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland It is

How many of us can say that we’re disappointed, but not surprised? Against a Carolina Panthers team that was also without two of their starting offensive linemen, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense provided little to no resistance and got steamrolled. Although the defense recorded a turnover, they didn’t do much else to stop the Panthers. It’s […] How many of us can say that we’re disappointed, but not surprised? Against a Carolina Panthers team that was also without two of their starting offensive linemen, the Dallas Cowboys’ defense provided little to no resistance and got steamrolled. Although the defense recorded a turnover, they didn’t do much else to stop the Panthers. It’s a shame, too, because Dak Prescott was once again terrific from the pocket and George Pickens did all he could to elevate the passing attack practically singlehandedly. Pickens had 168 yards receiving, including some plays that are sure to go viral on social media. Meanwhile, Prescott threw for three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a passer rating of 124.8. Yet, it all goes to waste as the Cowboys travel back to Dallas licking their wounds after being mauled by the Panthers in a loss that ensures they remain in third place in the NFC East. Here is why the Cowboys suffered a deflating defeat on the road. Rico Dowdle talked big and backed it up Earlier this week, when talking to reporters, Panthers running back Rico Dowdle issued a warning to the Cowboys about knowing the type of runner he is and how they should “buckle up” for playing against their former teammate. I guess Dallas didn’t get the message. Dowdle embarrassed his former team and accounted for 239 yards from scrimmage. All the more demoralizing is how easy the yards on the ground came by. Dowdle ran for 6.1 yards per attempt Sunday, with only his longest rush going for 15 yards. This means that Dowdle was plowing over the Cowboys on nearly every carry and keeping Carolina ahead of the chains. Yes, Dallas has injuries at linebacker, but that is no excuse. Allowing somebody to issue a statement like Dowdle did to the media and then being able to add the exclamation point on the field should have everyone associated with that defense, including the defensive coordinator, taking a long, hard look in the mirror over the next week. Eberflus frustrating gameplan Let’s all understand that while Bryce Young is making strides as a young quarterback, he’s hardly proven that he’s capable of being able to consistently beat a team with his arm. Once Dallas recognized that playing in their zone defense wasn’t enough to stop the run on early downs, it should have been indicative enough that something had to change. Only occasionally did Eberflus commit more defenders in the box to stop the run. Sure, you don’t want your secondary to get beat deep and allow explosive plays, but you have to be willing to live with that considering how much money is tied up in the secondary, especially to Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. This goes outside of the game against Carolina alone, but exactly why are the cornerbacks playing so far off the line of scrimmage beyond the line to gain? We saw that last week against the New York Jets and again today in Carolina. On the most important play of the game, on 4th-and-4 with a chance to get the ball back to get the win, Bland was five yards past the line to gain and allowed a back-breaking first-down conversion to Hunter Renfrow. The personnel are not playing well, but they are being left out to dry by a coach who is hesitant to adapt at the most critical moments. Dallas’ last offensive drive Matt Eberflus isn’t the only coach who has to answer for puzzling decisions. First, and this may be a nitpick, but it seemed like Brian Schottenheimer committed to the run for way too long. Dallas was unabashed about running on first and second down, and Carolina wasn’t yielding an inch. The Panthers held Javonte Williams to 29 yards on 13 carries. However, the biggest gripe with Schottenheimer’s playcalling was the final drive before Carolina got their game-winning field goal. After Dallas’ almost miraculous stop of the Panthers, the Cowboys had a prime opportunity to go ahead, starting at their 46-yard line with the game tied 27-27. Yet, Schottenheimer opted for the toss-back screen to Williams on first down, which resulted in a five-yard loss. Then another swing pass to Williams that lost seven more yards, before giving up on third down to ultimately entrust a bad defense not to lose the game, which they promptly lost. At this point, Dak Prescott is playing arguably the best football of his career, without his starting lineman and CeeDee Lamb. Taking the approach of that type of conservative play-calling when Prescott is playing the way that he is makes no sense. Dallas needed to entrust their leader to keep attacking the Carolina defense as he had earlier in the game. A disappointing outing from the coaches, but more so disappointing from Schottenheimer on that final drive. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

Game Recap: Cowboys lose to Carolina, 30-27- Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com It wasn’t pretty, but relive the disappointing loss. Despite the offense’s continued success, at this point the Dallas defense seemingly had no solutions for stopping the Panthers when they had the ball. As the clock ticked over into the fourth quarter, Dowdle continued to pound […] Game Recap: Cowboys lose to Carolina, 30-27- Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com It wasn’t pretty, but relive the disappointing loss. Despite the offense’s continued success, at this point the Dallas defense seemingly had no solutions for stopping the Panthers when they had the ball. As the clock ticked over into the fourth quarter, Dowdle continued to pound away at their forces, rushing five times for 37 yards. The scoring honors, though, would go to McMillan, who got his second touchdown to provide Carolina with another lead. Who would blink first? The Cowboys nearly did, but on a third-and-5 at his own 35-yard line, Prescott again connected with Pickens, who spun away from the defense for a 45-yard gain. Dallas went on to get to the Panthers’ 8 but that would be it, and Aubrey had to come out for a 28-yard field goal to tie the game, 27-27. When the Cowboys defense then finally – finally! – got a three-and-out stop, it seemed that would be the break the team needed. But unable to take advantage, the Dallas offense then had to punt for only the third time all game. Meaning, the defense desperately needed another stop. They couldn’t get it. It looked like the Cowboys actually did when a Carolina pass on third-and-7 at its own 17-yard line fell incomplete, but a pass interference penalty on Kaiir Elam moved the chains and the possession continued. And later in the series, another Young attempt was no good on third-and-4 at the Dallas 40-yard line, but the Panthers converted the fourth down try to keep the drive alive as the clock hit the two-minute warning. When Carolina then picked up a first down at the Dallas 12-yard line with 1:01 remaining, and the Cowboys out of timeouts, Young simply kneeled the ball twice to run the time down to three seconds. Ryan Fitzgerald then kicked the 33-yard field goal as the clock hit zeroes to capture the 30-27 win. Dallas Cowboys vs. Carolina Panthers: Battle of the Blues – Cody Warren, Inside The Star The defense falters, and the offense wasn’t able to make up for it. Carolina came out punching at the beginning of the third quarter with a long pass to rookie receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. Rico Dowdle finished off the drive by exposing a terrible Dallas Cowboys zone passing defense with a 33-yard touchdown catch from Bryce Young and making the score 20-17 Carolina. Javonte Williams and the Cowboys’ offense attempted to establish a strong rushing game, but the Panthers’ defense focused on stopping the run and succeeded. Rico Dowdle continues to dominate the Cowboys, but Marist Liufau picked up a much-needed sack to slow down the Panthers’ offense. The Dallas defense actually forced a punt and gave the offense a chance to go back on top in what is becoming an offensive battle. The Cowboys’ run game was shut down by the Panthers’ front five. Still, the passing game and Carolina defensive penalties kept the offense humming, which culminated in a George Pickens receiving touchdown, putting the Cowboys up 24-20. This Cowboys’ defense is the first defense in their history to give up 100 yards rushing to a former running back, as Rico Dowdle had slashed the defense up to the end of the third quarter. Cowboys defense atrocious again, Panthers win 30-27 on 6-minute game ending drive – K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire It was a tough fourth-quarter watch. The Panthers were able to do pretty much whatever they wanted when they had the ball, save for a deflected pass for an interception in the first half, and a penalty-caused three-and-out in the fourth quarter. QB Dak Prescott and the Cowboys held their own, up until a strange response to that three and out gave the ball right back to Carolina. The Panthers took the final possession, wore out all six minutes and seven seconds remaining to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired to win, 30-27. The loss sunk the Cowboys back below .500, with a 2-3-1 record. They’ll return home next week to host division rival Washington. The Cowboys got another strong performance from Prescott, who for the first time in a while got absolutely no help from the running game. Prescott through for three touchdowns on 261 passing yards, again with no interceptions, improving his numbers to 13 TDs against just three picks on the year. Cowboys all but reveal Matt Eberflus’ fate after latest abomination – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat Eberflus’ days might be numbered in Dallas, but it sounds like he will get another shot at it. “Matt’s a great coach,” Schottenheimer said about why he believes Eberflus can fix the defense. “Everywhere he’s ever been, he’s had good defenses. It’s not just Matt by himself. Matt’s trying. The players are trying. This is not a lack of effort.” Is that the quote from a head coach who is close to firing his defensive coordinator? While Schottenheimer doesn’t come across as a coach who will throw coaches or players under the bus, there is clearly a semblance of belief that Eberflus can right the ship. Schottenheimer admittedly was backed into a corner (what else was he supposed to say?), but it sounds like Eberlfus will at least get one more week to save his job. Another abomination in a losing effort against the division-rival Commanders next week could be what pushes Jerry Jones over the edge. Whatever that breaking point is, Schottenehimer and the Jonses at least have to have a conversation about Eberflus. The Cowboys have the most prolific offense in football, and yet every game is a dogfight because the defense can’t stop

Rico Dowdle ran for over 200 yards last week against the Miami Dolphins. When he was asked about his performance after the fact, he noted that his old team in the Dallas Cowboys had better “buckle up” with regards to facing him with his new team in the Carolina Panthers. Sunday came. The Cowboys were […] Rico Dowdle ran for over 200 yards last week against the Miami Dolphins. When he was asked about his performance after the fact, he noted that his old team in the Dallas Cowboys had better “buckle up” with regards to facing him with his new team in the Carolina Panthers. Sunday came. The Cowboys were not buckled up. Dowdle finished Sunday’s Panthers win with 30 carries (also the number of points Carolina scored) for 183 yards. He also had 4 receptions for 56 yards and a score. He lived up to the shot he called in every possible way. When asked about it all following the contest Rico seemed to troll the Cowboys in saying “they wasn’t buckled up.” It is often said that history is written by the winners and on Sunday afternoon Dowdle held the pen. While bragging about success against the current version of the Cowboys defense is a bit of a choice at the end of the day, he lived up to his end of the bargain. See More: Dallas Cowboys News

Matt Eberflus had tremendous success during his stint as the Dallas Cowboys linebacker coach. Sean Lee thrived under him. Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson became legitimate role players thanks to his teachings. We all (speaking generally here) wanted him to have the defensive coordinator title in an official sense in those days, but the Cowboys […] Matt Eberflus had tremendous success during his stint as the Dallas Cowboys linebacker coach. Sean Lee thrived under him. Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson became legitimate role players thanks to his teachings. We all (speaking generally here) wanted him to have the defensive coordinator title in an official sense in those days, but the Cowboys held strong in keeping Rod Marinelli. Times are tough for Eberflus’ defense right now and no one is here to cast stones. We are simply here to look at how we got to this point and where it all started. The front office holds blame for Matt Eberflus Let’s be clear that Matt Eberflus is responsible for his own actions. His defense is actively holding the Cowboys back as an overall team and he deserves blame. We are in unison. Now let’s zoom out. Brian Schottenheimer is in his first year as the Cowboys’ head coach and one would assume that he would have been the one in charge of determining who his DC would be. Remember that this is the Dallas Cowboys, though. Jump to the 10:22 mark of this interview that Ed Werder and Matt Mosley conducted with Eberflus back in the offseason. Werder asks Eberflus what made him want to return to Dallas given that he (in Werder’s words) had other offers to be a DC in 2025. “Number one, the Jones family. The familiarity with them. I love Mr. Jones, Stephen Jones, and the entire family. To be able to come back and work with those guys. I trust them, know them, have a relationship with them. That to was number one.” “Secondly, when I was visiting with the Cowboys at that time I really didn’t know who the head coach was going to be because everybody was recruiting everybody at that time.” NFL hiring cycles can be wild. It is fair to have discussions and interviews with candidates for different spots on your staff due to the chaotic nature of it all. But consider that for Eberflus the Jones family was number one on his list and that he did not know his boss would be Brian Schottenheimer. Consider that this report from Pro Football Talk reinforced how Eberflus was thought to be the top defensive coordinator for the Cowboys even before Schotty was hired to be the team’s head coach. Conspiracy theorists noted at the time how Eberflus fit the mold as someone who the front office has a relationship and familiarity with, so did Schotty to be fair, which draws the line between the dots. It is easy and convenient to blame the Jones family when times are tough for the Cowboys, but in this instance it is more than fair. Their apparent insistence on someone they knew has directly compromised this season given that the defense is by far the weakest point of this team at the moment. With all due respect to Eberflus, we should also call out that the Cowboys hired him at literally the first moment that they could when he had to take a demotion. He left Dallas (when he was not the DC) for the DC role with the Indianapolis Colts and left them to be the head coach in Chicago. His next stop was his current one. These words will fall on deaf ears, but if the Cowboys want to have any type of success in the Brian Schottenheimer era then they are going to have to empower the man to make his own decisions. See More: Dallas Cowboys News

The Dallas Cowboys offense did their job to secure another victory in the Week 6 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, but unfortunately their defense was a liability that led to the 30-27 loss. With this loss the Cowboys moved to 2-3-1 on the season and still have a lot a really tough games ahead of […] The Dallas Cowboys offense did their job to secure another victory in the Week 6 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, but unfortunately their defense was a liability that led to the 30-27 loss. With this loss the Cowboys moved to 2-3-1 on the season and still have a lot a really tough games ahead of them on the schedule. It still pretty early to suggest there season is circling the drain, but unless a defense improves things could be heading that direction. This Week 6 matchup shaped up to be a tough one from the beginning for the Cowboys. The Panthers defense is deceptively better than many people believed, and they proved to that by making things extremely difficult, especially in the running game. There was obviously more bad and ugly than we would’ve liked for the Cowboys, but there was a little bit of good mixed in as well. Below we share our good, bad, and ugly from this week’s matchup. THE GOOD – George Pickens Although it didn’t end up making a difference, Georgia Pickens had himself a day. He was able to haul in nine catches for 168 receiving yards and a touchdown this week against the Panthers. His six receiving TD’s this season is not only a career-high for him, but has him tied for the most by a Cowboys player through the first six weeks of the season since the NFL merger. Pickens has really been a difference maker with CeeDee Lamb out it’s just too bad his big day didn’t come with a “W” instead of another disappointing loss. The Cowboys defense has been atrocious this year and there is absolutely no reason to try to suggest otherwise. They gave up 410 total yards and allowed QB Bryce Young to throw for 199 yards and three touchdowns. The worst thing was they had no answer for their former starting RB, Rico Dowdle. Dowdle completely dominated on the ground rushing for 183 yards and added another four catches for 56 receiving yards and a TD through the air. Matt Eberflus’ defense was completely embarrassed and sadly there are no easy fixes. THE UGLY­ – Cowboys’ running game The Cowboys have been at their best when Javonte Williams can find some running room so far this season, but that wasn’t the case against a Panthers in this Week 6 matchup. Carolina’s interior defensive line headlined by Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown III, and A’Shawn Robinson continuously seemed to get the better of Dallas’ interior OL. Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass particularly seemed to have a hard time handling them throughout the game. Hopefully things will change for the better when both Tyler Booker and Cooper Beebe are able to return to the starting lineup. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster